Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi New York 2023 Deborah Love, Natalie Lewis, Joseph Parrish, Sydney Dardis

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi  
• Composer: Puccini Giacomo  
• Libretto: Giovacchino Forzano    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
• Venue & Opera Company: Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, New York City, The Juilliard School  
• Recorded: April 22, 2023
• Type: Staged Opera Live
• Singers: Deborah Love, Natalie Lewis, Joseph Parrish, Sydney Dardis, Sophia Baete, Gemma Nha, Lucy Altus, César Parreño, Natalie Lewis
• Conductor: Daniela Candillari  
• Orchestra: Julliard Orchestra  
• Stage Director: John Giampietro  
• Stage Designer: Alex Distler  
• Costume Designer: Audrey Nauman  
• Lighting Designer: Kate Ashton  

Information about the Recording

• Published by: The Juilliard School  
• Date Published: 2023  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

DIGITAL PROGRAM LEAFLET 

Director’s Note By John Giampietro
In these two operas from Puccini’s Il trittico, we set out to explore the
destructive cycle of judgment and punishment. We also ask: Where does
redemption come from, who grants it, and what forms can it take? These
questions run through Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi despite their wildly
different tones. Pursuing these questions through the lenses of tragedy
and comedy allows us a wider perspective and many entry points on the
path to discovery.
As a jumping-off point, we reimagined both operas to take place in a similar
space. It is a recognizable but distant space suggesting confinement,
coldness, and an ever-watching eye. The architecture is hard and
unforgiving, consisting of stone, metal, brick, and wood. Yet there is divine
mystery buried within (quite literally, as you will see). It is also a living
vessel communicating with us. It contains potential for transformation
and redemption.
The story of Suor Angelica takes place in a contemporary society adjacent to
our own. A community of women, devoted to the Virgin Mary, are cloistered,
many against their will. In our process, we found a language of repetitive
gesture to reflect the inner life of the sisters. This is a unifying action that
speaks to our participation in the cycles of life and contribution to the great
chain of being.
Meanwhile, the cycle of judgment is repeated endlessly in Gianni Schicchi.
He is forever trapped in 1299, doomed by Dante to relive his tale of cunning
and deceit. What will end this punishment? Is it a final plea to the audience,
acknowledging our own participation in this cycle of judgment?
Ultimately, what we discovered and hope to communicate in these works
is that redemption can come from the presence of a moral beauty within
us, translated into loving action in the world.

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